The glorious food of a rural past

If you have never had a Portuguese country meal, you need to find a way to get to one.

Salt of Portugal

When you dine at Solar dos Amigos, you take a trip back to a time when people grew their own food, so cooking was informed by a deep knowledge of the ingredients.

We realized that our meal would be extraordinary with the arrival of a small plate of pataniscas (fried codfish) that were wonderfully light and full of flavor. The Portuguese never tire of codfish, so we tried two more codfish preparations. The first was Tiborna, roasted codfish combined with potatoes and olive oil. It is a traditional recipe, but this version shined because the ingredients were pristine and the execution immaculate. The second was codfish campino style, a delicious, airy combination of codfish, cabbage and white beans served inside a baked country bread.

Our first meat dish, fried lamb chops, reminded us of how extraordinary the taste of lamb can be. The grand finale was Cascos à Ribatejo—veal grilled in the huge fireplace…

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